Aurora - Alaska's Tough POS

Yes, credit cards may stop working on your point of sale system this summer! We are providing you with more information on this important issue - please take a moment to read.

First some definitions and background on this topic:

TLS: Transport Layer Security (TLS) is a cryptographic protocol used to establish a secure communications channel between two systems.

SSL: Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is the standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. This link ensures that all data passed between the web server and browser remain private.

On Feb. 13, 2015, the PCI Security Standards Council announced that SSL, a protocol designed to ensure that data provided between a web server and a web browser, such as credit card information, remains secure - is no longer an acceptable way to provide strong cryptography, due to a number of known fundamental vulnerabilities. The deadline is June 30, 2018.

It's a windy, snowy day in Alaska. Power goes out and comes on with a power surge. Everything for your system comes back on but the router. What do you do?

If you have a backup router or order a new one, just plugging it into your system may not work. If it is the same brand of router you stand a better chance of it working. If it a different brand of router, it will not work until you do the following.

Tech Tip: On the Aurora NCC Point of Sale System, registers must show "Totals Cleared" before starting a new day. If it does not, it means that the computer in the back did not communicate with the registers.

In March, the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) announced new changes to the PCI Qualified Integrators and Resellers (QIR) Program in response to industry feedback and data breach report findings. The program changes are designed to increase the number of QIRs and equip them to help merchants reduce risk by mitigating the leading causes of payment data breaches.

The PCI SSC QIR program offers specialized data security training and certification to individuals that install, configure and/or support payment systems. PCI SSC maintains a listing of PCI QIRs on its website for merchants to use in identifying and selecting trusted partners. Since the program was established in 2012, breach reports highlight that smaller merchants are increasingly under attack, and that the majority of merchant payment data breaches could be prevented by addressing three critical issues: insecure remote access, weak password practices and outdated and unpatched software.

NIMA Store replaced their grocery scanning system this year with the Aurora Alaska Tough Point of Sale system from Skurla's Point of Sale Solutions., and the manager, Clara Ivanoff, said she couldn't be happier.

If you accept credit cards in your business and want to avoid charge backs and/or reduce credit card fraud, we strongly encourage you to read this article from TSYS, one of our favorite preferred credit card processors: